Engaging God's Word Daily

Daily Archives: September 2, 2017

Summary: The days following Pentecost are filled with preaching the resurrected Christ and miracles performed, giving evidence of the divine origin of the message being delivered. The public response is overwhelming, but so also the first opposition begins to surface as well. The preaching of the resurrected Jesus does not sit well with the religious authorities who make their first efforts to squelch this new message and its adherents.

Devotional Thought:

God’s Power Applied

Wouldn’t it be wonderful to be able to use the power of God? And we’d use it for good, wouldn’t we? Imagine being about to put that power to use in the spread of the gospel? Who would be able to resist the message?

But isn’t it with good reason that this power isn’t at our fingertips? Good intentions notwithstanding, the likelihood of error in judgment and misuse of that power are pretty high.

Consider the opposition the apostles met in preaching Jesus in Jerusalem (Acts 4). Would it not seem to be an appropriate application of God’s power that their preaching would gain wider acceptance; particularly by those in opposition.

That’s not the apostle’s thinking. They prayed for God’s power to be at work, but their request was not that it be directed toward the hearers, but to themselves as proclaimers. They prayed for greater boldness! (Acts 4:29).

Think about it; God’s power is already in the gospel’s message (Rom. 1:16). His word will not return to Him empty (Isa. 55:11). The need is not for His power to be applied to the reception of His word, but to its delivery.